The Task
by Covershot
Summary: He asked one task of her: to continue his work after his death... Sonic/Blaze and a tiny hint of Silver/Amy. Rated T just to be safe. ONESHOT.


_**Sonic's Task**_

Disclaimer: I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog, Blaze the Cat, Silver the Hedgehog, Miles "Tails" Prower, Knuckles the Echidna, Dr. Eggman, Dr. Eggman Nega, or any other related products in this story. All things belong to SEGA.

Enjoy the story!

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Glassy blue eyes stared upward, into the black night sky. Labored breathing. A hard time getting himself under control. No, he couldn't die, not just yet. The blue hedgehog known as Sonic smiled weakly. Mission accomplished, he told himself. It was all over. All over… His greatest enemy, Dr. Ivo 'Eggman' Robotnik was no more. Dead within his own machine. The planet Earth could enjoy a new era of peace, now that the evil one was gone.

Sonic knew his time on Earth was coming to a close. As he lay in that grassy meadow, approaching death, he thought on all the times he'd fought evil, he'd fought the odds. No regrets, he told himself. No regrets. There was nothing to regret. He'd done the Earth his good deed. Now he waited for Death, the cold finality of it all, to claim his soul. He was now dying and his thinking, it came on as more philosophical than normal. He was only fifteen. Normal kids his age were in school, the human kids anyway.

All over, he thought. Again he felt his thoughts racing back to the end of his days. He could be sad. He could be sad that he'd only spent fifteen years on the Earth. He could be sad that he died without seeing the peaceful world without Dr. Robotnik. He could be sad that he was dying. He could be angry at the world, for not helping him. He could be angry at the world, for not fighting its own battles and leaving him to do it. He could be angry with himself, for jumping into action against evil. Had he just surrendered like a good little hedgehog, there was no doubt in his mind that he'd still be alive.

But that wasn't who he was. Sonic the Hedgehog could never leave someone in peril. Sonic could never forsake the world, no matter how bad things could get. Sonic would never let any megalomaniac impose upon the free will of others. It wasn't just contrary to his way of life, it was contrary to Sonic himself. Evil and Sonic couldn't exist in the same world. Now, as he lay there, dying, Sonic wondered what would become of the world once he'd left. Would Evil triumph? Would it ensnare the world.

_… No …_

No it wouldn't. There were others. Sonic's two best friends, Tails and Knuckles, they worked well as a team. Sonic was their leader. But they didn't need him. Sonic had been training Tails, his little brother of some sort. Knuckles was already very strong and more than capable of taking care of himself and Tails. Sonic hoped they would remain together. They were all best friends, after all. Together they were capable of doing his job after he'd left. Sonic smiled again. His friends wouldn't fail him, they couldn't. The hedgehog drew in one labored breath, waiting for his eventual end.

"Sonic?" came a voice from far away. Sonic strained to crane his neck around. Who was calling him. "Sonic!?"

Sonic let out a cough. The hedgehog turned his head around. His chest went up and down. Blood was pumping out of the gaping wound in his chest. It wouldn't be much longer now. Sonic always wondered, what ever did happen to someone after they died? Would he simply rot away into the ground, his body becoming lost and forgotten, decomposing for all eternity? Or was there a higher power, who would take him in if he'd been good? Sonic hoped it was the latter. His time was almost over. Would he be remembered after this? Would they ever forget them?

"Sonic!" the voice again. Sonic recognized it sharply this time. He gave off a grin, as if he wasn't dying. But Blaze the Cat knew better. The moment she'd found him, she'd dropped to her knees in despair.

"… No…"

"Hey Blaze," Sonic greeted weakly. "What's up?"

Blaze was a rather knew addition to the group. Once she'd ruled as a princess in another dimension, fighting another version of Dr. Eggman, called Dr. Eggman Nega. She had a childhood friend, Silver the Hedgehog, who came from the dimension as well. Once Eggman Nega had died, they moved here, to his dimension. Sonic was glad to see her. The truth was, he'd had something of a crush on Blaze for the longest time. Now was his chance to tell her. Before his death.

"Sonic…" Blaze uttered, her hand running over his wounded body. "… C-Can you walk? Get up? Anything?"

"I can barely move," Sonic replied. "I guess this is the end, huh?"

"It can't be!" Blaze shouted out, tears coming to her eyes. "There MUST be something you can do, Sonic. Don't give up!"

Sonic sighed, shook his head. "… Nothing…" He closed his eyes. "… It's gotta be the end… It's alright, I've done my job…"

Blaze could not believe what she was hearing! Sonic the Hedgehog was dying! He was giving up life, just sitting there, letting it happen! He didn't even look as if he cared! But she did! He couldn't just die! There was no way!

"Get a hold of yourself Sonic!" Blaze snapped. "There's no way you can give up now!" Tears were freely falling from her cheeks. She was crying. For the first time, Blaze the Cat had let herself cry in front of another. Never had that ever happened before. "You can't die Sonic…" she sobbed, thrusting her head down. "I-I need you…"

Sonic mustered all the strength into his body, groaning as he pulled himself up into a sitting position. Blood ran freely from his chest into the ground. But he couldn't stop now. He had a favor to ask of Blaze, and a confession to make. And she couldn't agree while crying.

Sonic cupped one hand under Blaze's chin, bringing it up to meet him. Her yellow eyes met his green ones. "I want to ask you something," Sonic said.

"Anything…" Blaze said. "… Just name it…"

"You know the others, Amy, Cream, Tails…" Sonic smiled at her. "… I want you to tell them that I said goodbye and I'll miss them. Especially Tails, he's my best friend ya know."

Blaze smiled through her tears. "I'll tell them."

"Also," now it was Sonic's turn to be nervous. It's now or never, he thought. "… Blaze, I-I just wanted to say that… I…" The purple cat silenced him with a finger to his lips.

"I know, and I love you too…"

That was it. Sonic nodded. Slowly, every bit of strength he had became sapped from him. The hedgehog plummeted to the ground, dead before he even hit the floor below him. The purple cat kneeling over him put a hand on his cheek, stroking it gently. Tears fell from her eyes, onto his torso. Gently, she lifted his head and rested it on her lap.

"Goodbye Sonic the Hedgehog," she said. Her tears were beginning to dry up. Sonic had entrusted her with one job, a job she knew she HAD to fulfill. She owed it all to him. "And don't worry, I promise I'll do what you wanted."

The purple cat lifted the hedgehog off the ground, wrapping his dead body in her arms. With Sonic clutched to her, Blaze watched the sky above, thinking on her new task. Sonic's closest friends, Tails, Amy, Knuckles, and Cream were going to react the most negatively to all of this. Cream, only six years old, would be horrified, crying hysterically. Amy would probably cry too, but not as much as she would have if she'd still loved Sonic with a passion. Truth was, she'd found a hero in Silver. But still, they were close friends.

Blaze was most worried about Tails. Sonic and Tails were best friends, never leaving the others' side. The news of a dead Sonic would definitely hurt Tails in ways neither Cream or Amy would feel. And Knuckles too, she thought. How would Knuckles react? He probably wouldn't cry. But although he wouldn't admit it, Knuckles considered Sonic his best friend. Sonic's death wouldn't be good news to him. Blaze knew she had a tough task ahead of her.

But she could do it. Casting one last look at the dead hedgehog in her arms, Blaze was filled with the confidence that only Sonic himself had before. No more crying, she thought. She had to be strong again, for Amy, for Cream, and for Tails, just as Sonic asked. The cat stared long and hard at the moon, its silvery light falling upon her and Sonic.

Blaze had worked it all out. In the end, everything would be alright. Sonic had left the job of defending the world to all of them. They knew this. They entrusted Sonic with their lives. They would do anything they could for him. And all he asked was that they carry on the job of keeping the world safe from Evil, should he every rear his ugly head again. Blaze would be ready for that day, and so would Tails, Knuckles, and Amy too. She would make sure of it.

With fiery new ambition, Blaze walked out of the meadow to the Mystic Ruins, carrying the world's former savior in her arms…

_The End_


End file.
